Irreversible Reactions
by Raindrops Are Heaven's Tears
Summary: An single action influences the course of action of the others even if they don't seem connected. DH-compliant.
1. Disclaimer

**Disclaimer:** **Harry Potter, its world and characters are not mine. They belong to J.K. Rowling, her publishers Scholastic Books and Bloomsbury Books and to the Warner Bros. studios for the movies.**


	2. Prompt: Cheating

_August 19, 2013_

_For E, who makes me smile and laugh even if the tropical storm rages on outside._

_Pairings: HP/GW; ZB/GW; DM/AG; HP/DM; _

_(DH-compliant, AU)_

_(Word prompt: Cheating)_

He walked, amongst the evening crowd littering Diagon Alley, unnoticed and observed its streets still bustling with people and still lively with business and magic, as if the war had not ended just five years ago. It ended with the Dark Lord slain and tyranny crushed but not without many prices to pay and blood spilt. Face after face of those who died for The Cause and those who were left behind raced behind his eyelids as he closed his eyes on the onslaught of memories.

"Hey! Get a move on!" A shrill voice of a shopper broke the darkness his thoughts have taken a turn to and he shook his head, trying to dispel the webs of the past. He mumbled his apology and walked fast, pivoting sharply towards the High End Tangent Alley and pushed an ornate glass door of one shop open, chimes tinkling as he did so.

The shop was bereft with people except for a man behind glass cases inside the posh shop. He was quite old, in his 60s it might seem, and on his nose his spectacles were perched, gold frame glinting in the well-lit room. The old man looked up upon his arrival and the lined face lit up in recognition.  
"Ah, Mr. Potter! Come in, come in!" The man jovially greeted, rounding the glass cases and coming towards him. He thrust out a hand which the old man took and enthusiastically shook.

"I hope I was not too late, Mr. Greene." He apologized for the second time of the day as he took his scarf and coat off, handing it to the house elf that popped right at that moment.

"Merlin, no! You are in fact, early." The old man replied cheerfully before turning his back to him and went back behind the glass cases. He followed the man sedately, looking around the sparkling displays with a cool kind of interest.

"Here, I merely updated the charms and cleaned it but it is still good as new. Goblin-forged rings still live up to their near-destructibility and sheer beauty. These are, of course, very rare these days and the Goblins last forged them since the 1900s…" The old man trailed off as his smile widened, "Your partner must be very precious to you, Mr. Potter."

He merely nodded, looking at the fire that seemed to be encased in the rows of small diamonds as he titled it side to side. He reverently placed the ring in its black cushion and closed the box with a soft thud.

"Your payment will be transferred to you, Mr. Greene. Thank you very much and have a good day." Harry Potter greeted as he placed the black velvet box in the inside pocket of his robe and walked out of the jewelry store.  
He leisurely strolled in Tangent Alley, his glamour firmly in place. He saw familiar faces behind the glass windows of some shops but he did not stop walking until he reached a dark, secluded corner. He turned into the spot and vanished without so much a sound.

_A rainy day is a sad day…_

The house was quiet when he arrived at its first floor which should not be the case. He looked around in confusion, the kitchen was empty and so is the sitting room. He turned and soundlessly climbed the narrow, winding staircase. The library was empty and his study is the only room that cannot be breached by anyone but himself so it was out of question so he headed straight to the main wing and found that the door is ajar and the soft white light spilled from the crack. He smiled thinking that she stayed up late again in case he gets home earlier than what he told her. He pushed the door, a greeting on his lips, his smile widening and the velvet box seemed to weight a tonne.

The sight that greeted him made his smile fall off immediately.  
A man was between his fiancée's legs, thrusting wildly as his fiancée has her head thrown back, fiery red hair strewn against the white sheets, her face scrunched in absolute bliss and pleasure as moans and pleas tumbled one after the other from her kiss-reddened lips.

The cacophony of moans and groans filled the room accompanied by the creaking of the foam and continuous thudding of the headboard to the wall made one perverse opera to a final of screams, growls, shaky yet contented sighs and giggling.

He felt absolute calm in the middle of it all, maybe because even if he had continuously denied it, he knew that the end of their three-year relationship and consequent engagement was nearing. If the waning passion in sex was not the clue, it was the glaringly obvious chasm in their daily interaction that seemed to increase every single day between them that cemented the eventuality. He did not yell, he did not shout and his expression did not even lose his calm in the face of this utter betrayal.

"How long has this been going on?" He asked with deliberate nonchalance, as if he was asking about the age of the house.

The two figures in the bed sprung up and apart from each other as if they became allergic of each other unlike the serpentine-like coiling they were in the throes of pleasure. The pinking of Ginny's cheeks from her orgasm rapidly paled as she tried to cover her nakedness with a sheet. Her eyes were wide and terrified as her mouth worked open and close, fumbling for an explanation. He turned his gaze to his fiancée's dalliance, Blaise Zabini who looked wary but not afraid nor even remotely guilty.

"I…Harry-" Ginny started, she was shaking terribly as her knuckles cracked from the clutching the edge of the blanket. He shook his head, sighing inaudibly.

"We have nothing more to say to each other. Please get all of your belongings and do what you will. The engagement will be reneged by tomorrow." He cut in, stopping whatever Ginny will say. It came out flat and uninterested that Ginny flinched violently.

He started to turn around and out, just to get away from all the chaos when he felt a hand seizing his arm. It was Ginny, whose brown eyes he fell in love with now filling with tears.

"That's it? You will not fight for me? You'll just let me go? I loved you Harry! I saw my life beside you!" Ginny wailed, shaking his arm a little to emphasize her point.

"Never it be said that I did not fight for you. Everyone saw the measures I took just to hold us together, to bring us back to those days when we were so in love. You just said it yourself Ginny, you loved me. I loved you too. I still do but not that way. It just…ended, I guess and we both knew it but never acknowledged it. You seemed to have found consolation on what would almost be a dispassionate union. What you did saved us from what could have been years of misery and bitterness. I think I should be grateful for that. Good bye Ginny." As he ended his spiel, he took her hand off her arm, kissed the shaking fingers and dropped it as he turned and walked away.

What he saw last Before he apparated was Ginny clinging to Blaise Zabini as sobs wracked her body and Zabini seemed to whisper things from his lips which rested on the side of her head.  
He thought he saw what he was trying to revive in their own relationship there.

_What difference does it make anyway?_

_(not the end.)_


End file.
